The Limelight
by SecretAgentGal9087
Summary: Tom Hanson likes to keep his private life well...Private. But in the world of the rich and famous, that is next to impossible. What happens when two worlds collide.
1. New Girlfriend

**Don't own nothing, except Tawney. This fic does include Booker and I know a lot of people don't particularly like that character but, give it a chance. I actually think he adds a lot to the storyline. Reviews are greatly appreciated!**

"What are you looking at Doug?" Harry Ioki, the young Vietnamese officer asked, as he approached his co-workers desk.

"New issue of People Magazine." Doug replied with little enthusiasm, as he was obviously engulfed in his reading.

"Anything good?" Harry replied.

"Eh…not really, but there's a great article on Tawney Cale."

"Who?"

"Tawney Cale, only the hottest young actress ever…where have you been?"

"Well, sorry if I'm too busy worrying about drug busts and hardened criminals to follow the lives of the rich and famous!"

"Ha ha, very funny…look at this woman and tell me she is not the most beautiful thing you have ever laid eyes on."

"Well that's all you're ever gonna lay on her…" Harry said, glancing down at the spread in the magazine at the young actress, "but yeah, she's pretty."

"Pretty…", Penhall scoffed, as he noticed Judy Hoffs had joined the group, " I show him a picture of the most beautiful woman on the planet…besides you Jude…and he says, 'she's pretty'!" Penhall exclaimed to Judy.

Harry rolled his eyes and leaned back against a metal filing cabinet he was standing near. "Oh…Tawney Cale, she's a good actress, she has a new movie coming out." Judy remarked.

Doug made an 'I told you so' face at Harry, who shoved himself off the cabinet and retreated to his own desk a few feet away from Doug's.

"So, how goes it?" Judy asked, making conversation.

"Good, no cases so, you know just sitting around doing paper work…tons of laughs." Doug said sarcastically, "at least I got my buddy Hanson to keep me company." Doug said motioning toward an empty desk next to Harry's."

"Yeah, speaking of Hanson, where is he?" Judy wondered

"Don't know…probably off filing reports, or bowling, or some other pathetic pass time."

"Hey, I think the bowling thing is cute." Judy replied mater-o-factly, "Besides, at least he has something he is involved in, unlike you."

"Jude's right Doug, you're boring." Harry shouted from his desk.

"I do stuff…its just hard with Dorothy breathing down my neck all the time." Doug commented about his roommate, and girlfriend.

"How are things with you and her going?"

"Great." Doug replied under his breath.

Just then, the front door of the old chapel swung open and in walked a disheveled, but nonetheless adorable Tom Hanson.

He scuffled over to his desk, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. When he reached his desk, he slid into his chair and sighed with relief at not being caught coming in late. "Made it." He mumbled almost inaudibly.

"Don't speak so soon." Came a gruff voice right in Tom's ear.

Tom looked up to see Fuller's face a mere few inches from his own. "Hey coach." Tom said flashing an incredibly fake smile that was both nervous and guilty.

"My office." Fuller said in his usual authoritative tone. When Adam Fuller gave an order, you listened…no questions asked.

Tom got up and slowly walked toward the dreaded office door, Fuller on his heels.

Doug, Judy, and Harry made mocking faces in his direction as he slowly shuffled past.

"Hanson in trouble?" Booker asked as he approached the group, followed by blowfish.

"Not really…he was a few minutes late that's all." Judy remarked.

Blowfish nodded his head knowingly and sighed.

"You know something we don't blow man?" Booker inquired.

Penhall's ears perked up at this and the whole group, eager for gossip leaned in to hear the janitor's tale.

"Well," blowfish began in hushed tones, "the missus and I were out for dinner at Popone's the other night and…guess who we saw there."

"Our boy Hanson…and a woman."

"So what?" Judy remarked with a disappointed sigh, "You gotta have something better than that; I thought we were in for some juicy gossip."

"That is juicy, you don't take just anyone to Popone's, and they looked pretty cozy." Blowfish defended.

"So, Hanson's got a new woman." Dennis stated.

"Real classy Booker." Judy said as she playfully slapped Dennis's shoulder.

Meanwhile…

"You wanna tell me why you are nearly forty-five minutes late?" Fuller asked as he shut the door to his small office.

Hanson stood with a blank expression in front of the large wooden desk. "Traffic." He replied coolly.

"Bull." Fuller chuckled, moving to the back of his desk and sitting on its corner.

"It won't happen again sir."

Fuller nodded, "Fine, if you don't want to tell me, I guess it's your business, but see that you're on time from now on, or so help me…you will regret it." Fuller threatened. Even though his words weren't overly threatening, his tone said it all and Hanson knew to obey.

"You can go." He said.

Hanson, shocked that he was getting off so easy, nodded and exited the room.


	2. April

"Hey buddy." Penhall said throwing his arm over his smaller best friend.

"Doug." Hanson answered suspiciously.

Doug slowly steered his peer toward the group of eagerly waiting officers gathered around Doug's desk.

"We were just wondering' why the punctual kid," Doug said pointing at the man dwarfed in his grasp, "is late, on this fine December morning?"

"No reason got caught in traffic." Tom replied, still sticking to his earlier lie which, in his opinion, was rather brilliant.

"You expect us to believe that Hanson?" Judy asked

Tom shrugged and ducked out of Penhall's embrace.

"Come on…don't you want to tell us about your secret love affair?"

Tom rolled his beautiful brown eyes, "One: it's not a secret love affair, and two: it's none of your business."

"So there is a girl." Harry spat.

Tom sighed and turned to walk away from the nosy group.

"Hanson!" the officers shouted.

Tom shot them a warning, but playful, glance over his shoulder and plopped down at his desk.

"At least give us a name!" Penhall pleaded

Tom thought about this for a minute and cautiously replied, "Err…um…April."

"Tommy and April sitting in a tree…"

Tom quickly threw a pen at Booker who got the hint and walked over to his own desk.

The day past rather uneventfully from there. With the holiday season approaching things were winding down around the chapel and there was little, if anything to do.

Tom glanced at the wall clock which read four 'o' five. _"Thirty minutes." _Tom thought to himself as he returned his focus to the paperwork he was filling out.

Four thirty finally rolled around and everyone said their goodbyes. Tom got in his Blue mustang and drove toward home. On his way, he stopped at the grocery store and bought a bouquet of roses, and then continued toward his apartment.

He entered the small apartment and immediately turned on the shower.

He showered and changed into a pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt. He was idly fiddling with his hair when there was a knock at the door.

Tom knew who it was, but there was a biting voice in the back of his head asking whether or not it was Penhall, and Booker, come to torment him about his new love life.

Tom shook his head fondly as he opened his front door. He slowly took in the sight before his eyes.

There stood a beautiful woman of about twenty-two. She was just a few inches shorter than him. She had shoulder length brown wavy hair, and huge brown eyes framed in long lashes. Her skin was immaculate and she had an intriguing, and sexy smile. However, in Tom's opinion, the title of her 'best feature' went to her figure. She wasn't anorexic like a lot of women, but she was by no stretch of the imagination heavy. No, she was perfect. Her body curved exactly in all the places it should and it was tight and flat in all the other places.

She was beautiful, and her name was Tawney Cale. Yes, Tawney Cale, as in Tawney Cale the celebrity. As in Tawney Cale the movie star and she was all Tom's. At first, it had been awkward for Tom; it all seemed too good to be true. But, Tom slowly began to realize that she was just a person like everyone else. A person with feelings and needs.

"Hey babe!" the woman replied warmly, throwing her arms around Tom's neck and kissing him passionately on the lips.

"Hey!" Tom smiled, when they finally broke apart.

She looked over Tom's shoulder and noticed the table with two place settings and a vase of roses in the middle. "What's the occasion?"

Tom didn't answer. Instead, he again met her lips with his own in a soft, but wonderful kiss.

"Mmmm…good enough for me." She replied walking into the room as Tom shut the door behind her.

"How was work?" Tawney asked from her spot on the couch.

"Oh great!" Tom replied sarcastically, taking a sip of his wine, and joining her on the couch.

"What happened?" Tawney questioned leaning back against Tom, her head in his lap.

Tom idly combed her long smooth hair with his free hand. "Oh, first…I was late, I have you to thank for that."

Tawney smiled innocently up at the handsome man she was leaning on.

"I didn't get in too much trouble though. But, they know."

"About us?"

Tom nodded. "Well, that's not that bad, I mean they are your friends." Tawney reassured.

"I know. I just wanted to tell them when it felt right. I keep my life pretty personal, you know. I don't like it when other people just walk all over my private life."

"Try being me." Tawney yawned, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of Tom playing with her hair.

"I can't imagine." Tom mused, "I didn't tell them who you were though…April."

"You named me April? Where did you come up with a name like that you psycho, you could've at least given me some sexy, exotic name?"

Tom laughed, "I promise, I'll tell them when it's right."

"It's perfectly fine, I understand." Tawney said, sitting up and looking at her lover. "Look, there's something I've been meaning to ask you. I don't start filming my next film for two months. So, I'll be around. Rather than living out of hotels or renting a place I would like it a lot if I could… stay here…with you?"

"You really want to?" Tom asked, shocked that this woman he had barley met wanted to live with him but, at the same time, completely loving the idea.

"Well…I mean if you don't want me to…"

"No, no…." Tom reassured, "that's not what I meant. I mean…this just all seems too good to be true."

Tawney smiled and wrapped her arms around Tom's neck. She understood the intimidation he must feel. After all, she was one of the most well known new actresses around at the moment. Cameras followed her everywhere she went, and her life was practically broadcast in every form of media available. It had to be intimidating. Heck, she wasn't even used to it.

But, that was what she loved about Tom, he was so private. She felt safe with him because she knew he wasn't with her for her fame. He wasn't going to go off and betray her by selling her out to the highest paying Paparazzi, like her boyfriends had in the past.

No, Tom was truly in love with her. Just her, and she loved him too. The fact that he was probably the most beautiful man Tawney had ever laid eyes on didn't hurt either.

"So…that's a yes, I can stay?" Tawney inquired.

"I would be honored." Tom answered, once again pulling Tawney into a passionate kiss.


	3. The Lovers

Sunlight poured into the bedroom of the small apartment and Tawney squinted her eyes at the offending brightness. She slowly rolled over so as not to disturb the man sleeping beside her. She propped herself up on her elbow and looked at Tom's sleeping form beside her.

He was lying on his back with the sheet pulled up to his waist leaving his bare, muscular chest exposed. She sighed and slowly traced her fingers over his face. He had extremely high cheek bones, and long eyelashes that just grazed the top of his cheeks with his eyes closed. His best feature, Tawney thought, aside from his never ending eyes, was his mouth.

His lips were a dusty shade of red and just accented his face perfectly. She ran her fingers over his lips and memories from the previous night came back into her head. They had made love for hours and then fallen asleep in each other's arms. Actually, this was how most of her nights had ended fro the past few months since she had met Tom, and she loved every minute of it.

Tom seemed like a shy person, but that was not true. He was smart; when he wasn't conversing with people he was studying them. He would watch people and how they behaved and use that to his advantage when he took on different personas for his undercover assignments.

This was quite similar to acting. In fact, Tawney's and Tom's careers were very similar, except for the fact that, Tawney's career didn't save lives, or hold nearly as much significance as Tom's line of work.

Tawney was shaken form her reverie when Tom slowly began to stir. He blinked a few times and gradually opened his eyes to see Tawney looking at him. A sly grin spread across his beautiful features.

He reached his hand up and caressed the side of her face. "Morning." He mumbled groggily.

Tawney bent down and kissed him on the cheek. "Sleep well?"

Tom nodded and slowly sat up.

"Where do you think you're going?" Tawney questioned pulling Tom back down on top of her.

Tom looked down at her and replied, "I have to go to work."

"A few more minutes!" Tawney pouted.

"Nope, we went through this yesterday and I was late for work. I'm going."

Tom got up and shuffled into the bathroom. Tawney watched him lovingly from her spot on the bed, and then finally resigning to get out of bed, she threw the comforter off herself.

"Bbbbrrrrrrriiiinnnnggg!" Dennis Booker nearly fell out of bed as the splitting noise of his telephone cut through the darkness of his bedroom.

"Hullo?" Dennis replied completely not yet awake.

"Hey!" came Douglas Penhall's overly cheery answer from the other end of the receiver.

"What?" Dennis asked

"Hey, well I just remembered that your car broke down and you live in the same apartment complex as Hanson. You'll need a ride to work so, why don't you see if your good buddy Tom would oblige?" Doug informed

"Penhall, what the hell are you talking about, my car works fine…"

But, Penhall cut him off before he could finish, "No Dennis don't you remember, I'm sure Tom and his NEW GIRLFRIEND would not mind if you dropped in and asked them for a ride."

"This is pathetic Doug…I'm not going to spy on Hanson, if he has a girlfriend that is his business."

"Come on! Harry and Judy are in on this too. Just get a look at her and tell us what she looks like, that's all we want."

Dennis shook his head and laughed, "You are evil."

"Thank-you Dennis." Penhall replied

"Don't mention it."

"Oh Dennis….Hanson keeps a spare key under his doormat."

Dennis didn't answer and slammed the receiver down falling back into bed for a few more minutes of sleep.

Tom poured another cup of coffee and grabbed the newspaper off the counter. He was silently reading and enjoying his morning when he felt hot breath on his neck.

"Hi." Tawney said.

Tom slowly turned around and wrapped his arms lovingly around the young woman's waist. She leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his lips. But, before the kiss could go much further, the front door burst open and there stood a stunned Dennis Booker.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Tom asked, quickly releasing Tawney, who looked rather embarrassed, especially because she was clad in only an oversized t-shirt.

"Sorry" Dennis replied unashamedly, "My car broke down, and I just live down the hall, so, I was wondering if you could give me a ride to work."

Tom got off his stool and approached Dennis, "Don't you know how to knock?" Tom asked annoyed.

"Well, I did, but you two were obviously too preoccupied to hear me. Then, I figured you would have a spare key and sure enough…" Dennis held up a small key in his left hand and looked triumphant.

Tom just glared at him for a few moments before turning around and walking into his bedroom to retrieve his badge, and gun.

"Dennis Booker." Dennis said, extending his hand to the beautiful girl in front of him.

"Tawney Cale."

Dennis suddenly looked like a brick landed on his head and he remained in a shocked state for the better part of a minute. "You're…you're…Tawney Cale."

Tawney nodded patiently. She had grown rather used to receiving this kind of reaction from people. Actually, it reminded her of the first time she met Tom's mother. Tawney laughed to herself at the memory and then returned her focus to Dennis.

Tom returned, and approached Tawney. "Be back at five." Tom said pecking her on the lips and walking briskly toward the door.

"Wait!" Tawney shouted, "Met me in the park for lunch?"

Tom nodded and again kissed her goodbye. Dennis watched the couple in amusement.

"We're leaving." Tom spat grabbing Dennis' arm and practically dragging him out of the apartment.

"Oh my god!" Dennis yelled as soon as they were inside Tom's mustang.

"How could you keep this a secret? Tawney Cale! Nice job man."

Tom quickly pulled over to the side of the road and put the car in park, he then sharply turned to Dennis and said in the most threatening voice he could muster, "The reason I didn't tell anyone is because I didn't want them to react exactly like you are acting. She is not some trophy and I don't appreciate her being viewed as one. Plus, I'm an undercover cop Dennis. Do you have an idea what would happen if this got out. Pictures of Tawney Cale's new boyfriend would be plastered in every magazine from here to Timbuktu, and my days as a Jumpstreet officer would be through."

Dennis looked completely taken aback, "I didn't think about that."

Tom put the car back in gear and continued the rest of the trip in silence. They reached the chapel and both officers exited the car and made their way to the door.

"Tall anyone and I will rip you throat out." Tom spat, opening the door and slamming it behind him before Dennis could enter.


	4. Paparazzi, oh no!

"So…" Penhall asked quietly so that Hanson would not overhear.

"What do you want Penhall?" Dennis asked wearily looking up from his desk. Hanson's spiel in the car had really put Dennis in his place and he now felt incredibly guilty for going along with Penhall's stupid plan in the first place. The last thing he wanted right now was a confrontation.

"Did you see her?"

"Nope, she wasn't there." Dennis lied.

Penhall made a disappointed frown and walked over toward Hanson's desk. "How's April?" He asked congenially

"Who?" Hanson asked looking up form his work, obviously very annoyed at the interruption.

"You're secret lover." Penhall mocked.

"Oh…she's great." Hanson replied returning to his work. Penhall sighed again and returned to his desk feeling very defeated.

"Whoa!" Penhall shouted from his desk where he and Harry were looking at a tabloid magazine.

"What are you two up to?" Judy Hoffs asked approaching the duo.

"It says in the table of contents that there are racy pictures of Tawney Cale in this magazine!" Penhall answered.

"You're a pig." Judy spat.

"Oh come on you knew that long before now!" Dennis said throwing his arm around the attractive woman's shoulders.

"These two are looking at raunchy photos of Tawney Cale."

Dennis went slightly pale, but nobody noticed. "You know those tabloid's are a bunch of bull. Those pictures probably aren't even of her." He said trying to defend Tom's girlfriend.

"Who cares?" Harry retorted.

"Hey guys! What are you up to?" Hanson asked cheerfully as he approached his friends.

"We're looking at nude pictures of Taw…" before Penhall could finish Dennis smoothly clamped his hand over Penhall's mouth and ripped the magazine from his grasp, hiding it out of Tom's view.

"Nude pictures of Judy!" Dennis lied.

"Booker!" Judy screamed.

Dennis glanced at her and then back at Tom, "Hey buddy, its lunch time. Didn't you have an appointment to go to?" Dennis hinted.

Tom looked curiously at Dennis and then nodded. "Well, I'm off. Catch you guys later." With that Tom exited the chapel.

"What was that all about Penhall asked rubbing his face where Dennis had touched him?

"Nothing" Dennis answered walking back to his desk.

"Hi!" Tawney said running up to Tom as he approached the park bench where she had been sitting.

Tawney threw her arms around Tom and hugged him warmly. Tom smiled in her embrace and then sat down on the grass. Tawney sat across form him and pulled out her picnic basket.

"I got take out for the Chinese place you like!" she said.

Tom smiled and helped her unpack the food.

The two spent the next hour laughing and talking about every topic imaginable.

"Tom, there is this party at the Hilton Friday and I think we should go."

"Why?" Tom asked.

"Well…because, the party is for me."

"That's a pretty good reason." Tom replied, "But, I thought we were going to keep this a secret."

"No paparazzi allowed at this party I promise!" Tawney assured.

"I don't know, I mean that is a lot to ask, and on my bowling night!" Tom joked

Tawney laughed and talked him to the ground, "You, Mr. Hanson, are teasing me."

"Who me…?" Tom batted his eyelashes playfully, and then rolled her over so he was lying on top of her.

"You're absolutely right." He said smoothly as he covered her mouth with his. He slowly explored her mouth with his tongue as his hands rubbed the skin on her waist. Tawney ran her fingers through Tom's hair and moaned as he began to trail hot kisses along her neck.

Meanwhile…

A young man stood in the bushes not three feet from where the happy couple lay. He had seen Tawney leave an apartment that morning and had followed her to this spot. He didn't know what he was going to get but this was turning out great.

Even though he was an amateur reporter, he knew how much a picture of Tawney Cale making out with some young hott guy in a park would sell for, and he wasn't about to pass this opportunity up.

He slowly raised the camera and pushed the zoom button. He was lucky, from the distance he was at; he could get a remarkably clear picture with little effort. He smiled to himself at the thought of the revenue this would bring in and slowly but precisely pushed the button.

He heard the inaudible click, and snapped again. Now, he just needed to wait for them to get off of each other so he could get some good shots of their faces.

The couple finally broke apart and the man got up and then pulled Tawney up with him. The photographer grinned and again raised his camera.


	5. Hanson's problem

Lunch! What to say about lunch…lunch had been perfect! In fact every moment of her life since she had met Tom Hanson had been perfect.

Well, that might be stretching it, but things had definitely made a turn in a great direction, thought Tawney Kale as she watched Tom's retreating form from the sidewalk where she stood.

She sighed with content, and turned to head back to Tom's…or rather _their_ apartment.

Tom regretfully waved goodbye to his lover one last time as he made his way back to the chapel in his blue mustang.

Life was so unfair sometimes, he thought ruefully as he considered the fact the he was on his way back to work, to earn a paltry salary. While his extremely rich girlfriend was probably on her way to watch chick flicks on the couch all day.

Still, he couldn't complain. He loved his job.

He opened the door to the familiar chapel and made is way into the chaos. When he saw his friends, he immediately gravitated toward the group.

Whatever enthralling activity the other officers were involved in was cut off abruptly as Tom approached.

Dennis Booker, a stylish if not effeminate man quickly hid something behind his back as he wheeled around to face Hanson.

"Hey buddy, how was your appointment?" Dennis asked trying to stifle a laugh building in his chest. Doug Penhall and Harry Ioki who were standing near Dennis sniggered as well.

Tom gave them a suspicious glare as he answered, "fine, Booker, thanks for asking".

At that moment, Penhall could no longer contain himself, and he burst out laughing. Booker meanwhile quickly excused himself and was soon nowhere to be seen.

"What is so funny Doug?" Hanson spat as he glared at his "friend".

Penhall, still unable to speak because of his laughter, simply shook his head back and forth, and made hand movements meant to signal Hanson to drop it.

"Doug…out with it now!" Hanson spat, giving his friend a cross glare.

Doug knew that look, that look meant no questions. Penhall stifled his laughter and started to address his partner, "How was your doctor's appointment?" Penhall chocked out.

Hanson gave his friend a quizzical look. "My what?" He asked.

Penhall laughed some more, "come on Hanson, it is nothing to be ashamed of… besides, Dennis already explained everything"

A look of confusion mixed with anger crossed Hanson's face. "Oh he did, did he?"

"Yeah…he told us all about how you have been having "problems" with your drive lately" Penhall said, still struggling to keep a straight face.

"My drive?" Hanson repeated.

"Oh come on…it is nothing to be ashamed of. Happens to the best of us. I lose the urge to…" Hanson quickly cut Penhall off when he realized what Dennis had told them.

"Wait…he said I was having problems with my sex drive?" Tom said, now very annoyed.

"Yeah, that's why you were late to work this morning, and why you had to go to an appointment today" Penhall said giggling some more, "Hanson…you do realize that this just might give me license to mock you for the rest of your life!", but by the time Doug finished his speech it was too late.

Hanson already had Booker pinned against a filing cabinet across the room. "Relax Hanson" Booker laughed, "I had to come up with something…I thought it was pretty creative!"

"I can't believe you…" Hanson said shaking his head and releasing his friend, "I can't take this anymore…I'm out, see you guys tomorrow" With that, Hanson grabbed his things and stormed out of the chapel.

"Jeez! Someone is awful touchy about his problem!" Harry said from his spot on Doug's cluttered desk, behind which Doug was still cracking up.

Dennis Booker just shrugged, and flashed an evil grin at his coworkers.

Hanson wasted no time in getting to his apartment that night. All he wanted to do was hold Tawney in his arms, and forget the world.

He felt a little bad about the way he had treated everyone at the chapel, although he would never admit it. He had been extra touchy lately for reasons unbeknownst to him.

He fumbled with his keys and opened the door to his apartment. He was greeted with the most wonderful smell he had ever had the pleasure to inhale.

As Tom followed the smell through his apartment, toward his kitchen he noticed that everything seemed immaculately clean.

The lights were dim, as they always were in the apartment, and the stereo was playing Love child by Dianna Ross, which amused Tom slightly.

He reached the entrance to the kitchen, and there stood Tawney, her back to Tom, stirring something on the stove and singing along to the music.

She was wearing a flowy white sundress and she had a little pink apron around her waist.

He leaned against the doorframe and lovingly watched her dance around.

Her hair was down, she was bare-foot, and she had little make-up on. Still, this was perhaps the most beautiful Tawney Kale had ever looked in Tom's eyes.

She looked natural, attainable. Gone was the movie star that the world knew. The woman in front of him was simply… Tawney. Tom's lover and best friend.

Her blonde hair swished seductively as she moved, she looked so perfect. Tom couldn't help himself.

He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing her close to him as he whispered in her ear. "I could really get used to this".

Tawney smiled brightly and leaned into his embrace. She didn't say anything. She simply reached behind her and ran her fingers through Tom's hair. "I already have" she finally replied.

Tom suddenly felt the urge to sweep her away and profess undying love to her…but he was not one to be sentimental at all. So, he instead quickly changed the subject.

"What are you making?" He questioned, letting go of her and peeking into the pot on the stove.

"Pasta" she replied as she resumed stirring the boiling concoction.

Tom kissed her cheek and went to his bedroom to clean up a bit before dinner.

Tawney made the finishing touched and smiled at her accomplishment, as she waited for Tom to finish getting ready.


	6. the news breaks!

"Goodnight!" Tawney yawned as she turned off her lamp. Tom mumbled a response, and soon both were sound asleep.

-------------------------------

"Have I got the story of the century!" A Harrison Michaels, a young reporter squealed as he rushed into the editing room of the New Horizon Magazine where he worked.

"What?" the editor asked.

"Just look!" Harrison said throwing the pictures down on the editors desk.

The older man's eyes widened as he studied the photos. "Kid, I can already see the promotions!" he shouted patting Harrison on the back.

"Well let's get them printing!" Harrison said grinning from ear to ear.

With that the two set about their work, completely wrapped up in their excitement.

---------------------------------

"So, about the party…I was thinking we could go get you a tux today when you get off work…" Tawney said meekly as she sat down beside Tom to read the newspaper, as was their morning routine.

"Sounds great" Tom said somewhat sarcastically from behind the sports section.

Tawney sighed in relief, "Oh, good…I was worried you would change your mind about going."

"Nope, I think it will be fun. I'm just nervous, that's all." Tom said lowering the paper to look into her eyes.

"You will be great. A bunch of rich snobs can't possibly be as intimidating as some of the criminals you deal with!" Tawney said, plopping herself down on Tom's lap.

"You have a point there…" Tom said, kissing her warmly.

"Jesus Christ….I really need to learn to knock" Booker said under his breath as he glared at Tom and Tawney.

"How did you get in here?" They yelled in unison, neither one moving.

Booker dangled the spare key, as he made his way to the kitchen table.

"Look, you and Penhall need to find a new way of spying on us, because using the same trick twice in a row is pathetic." Tom said casually.

"Funny Hanson, but that's not why I'm here" Booker said frantically.

"Okay then, I give up…what do you want?"

"Look!" Booker said throwing that morning's issue of The New Horizon on the table.

Tawney nearly fell off Tom's lap, and Tom choked on the toast he had been eating.

There plastered on the cover of the magazine were multiple pictures of Tawney and Tom in the park. The headline read 'A Mystery Man captures the Heart of Hollywood's Sweetheart Tawney Kale!'.

"Oh my god." Tawney said flatly as she picked up the magazine, and moved to another chair at the table.

"What am I going to do?" Tom said, more as a statement rather than a question.

"Do you know what this means?" Booker asked frantically.

Tom jumped from the table and grabbed the front of Booker's shirt, "Of course I know what this means, Dennis!"

"Hey…I came to warn you, don't get mad at me!" He said releasing himself from Tom's grasp.

"Sorry, I'm just a little upset…" Tom said sarcastically.

"Look, Fuller will know what to do, we just need to stay calm." Tawney piped in from the table.

The two men, who had completely forgotten her presence turned to face the beautiful girl.

Tawney approached her boyfriend and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It will be fine. Just, go and talk to him"

Tom looked at her for a second and then sighed. "Alright…stay here, I'll be back later".

Tawney nodded and gave him a quick kiss goodbye. "Thank-you…Dennis, was it?" She asked looking at Tom's co-worker.

"Call me Booker" He replied extending his hand to Tawney, "I'm a big fan!" He replied grinning

"Okay…okay…enough!" Tom said grabbing Dennis and rushing him out of the apartment.

"So does this mean I can have a ride to work?"

Tom rolled his eyes and continued down the stairs.

A few minutes later, they arrived at Jumpstreet. Tom lifted a shaky hand to the door. _Well, this is it!_ He thought as he pushed the door open, and walked into the unknown.


	7. I know him!

Tom eased his way through the chapel as quickly as possible, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

After managing to make it to Fuller's door unscathed, he took a deep breath. _Well, here goes nothing! _

Tom lifted his fist, and just as he was about to knock, the door swung open and there stood Adam Fuller, a very stern look on his face.

"Hanson…go figure" He said flatly, stepping to the side and motioning for Hanson to enter.

Tom quickly took a seat.

"Look, getting mad at you is pointless. It's not like you had any control over the situation…and you can't help who you fall for. But, I wish you would've come to me sooner."

"Sorry coach, I just…I don't like talking about my private life."

Fuller sighed, "well, we need to get this under control. Those pictures started quite the frenzy" Fuller said chuckling.

Hanson gave his boss a quizzical look, unsure why he was laughing at something that was clearly not funny.

Fuller noticed Hanson's confusion and chuckled again. "Here." He said tossing the fatal magazine to Tom.

Tom picked it up and began thumbing through the pages. One headline caught his attention.

'Cale's Mystery Man Appears To Be More Of A Mystery Than We Thought!'

Tom began reading the article.

'As many of you already know, we at the magazine offered free tickets to the premire of Miss Kale's new movie_, To Die Alone_, to anyone who could identify her new beau. Well, after countless interviews, it appears that many people seem to know this mystery man.

"I would know that face anywhere! That's Tommy Quaid!" Marcy Lind, a senior at Marymount High claimed.

""Of course I recognize him, his name is Tom Gillmore!" Susan Chadwick, a high school teacher claimed!"

As a matter of fact, 125 different names were compiled after only one hour of interviews! Clearly, this man is more of an enigma than anyone could've hoped. "

Tom put the paper down and shook his head. "God, this is a mess!"

"No kidding, well I had the station send someone down to the magazine to have them call off the contest, and retrieve anymore pictures they might be hiding. As for you, no more public…you know…"

"Got it coach" Hason said, stopping Fuller before the conversation got anymore awkward.

"Good… So, the best advice I can give you is lay low. With the holidays you're lucky because there's no cases. That will give this some time for this to blow over." Fuller patted the younger man on the back, "Go home to her Tom"

Hanson's eyes widened at Fuller's sudden compassion. "Okey Dokey", he replied.

"Here he comes!" Penhall said jumping up and down.

"Leave him alone Doug!" Judy spat.

"Oh, come on Jude!" Ioki said joining Penhall.

"Here he is! My Hero!" Doug said engulfing Hanson in a hug.

Hanson kicked and flailed and eventually succeeded in freeing himself from Penhall's bear like grip. "What do you want?" Tom said straightening his jacket.

"We wanna meet her!" Harry said plopping himself down on Tom's desk.

"Oh not you too!" Tom remarked shaking his head and sitting in his chair.

"Please!!!" Doug said dropping to his knees.

"NO! Doug, she is just a person. I refuse to let you idiots harass her. You should be ashamed of yourselves."

Everyone was silent for a few moments while they considered what Tom had said.

"We should be, but sadly we're not." Harry said joining Doug on the floor, and pleading.

"Come on Hanson…you can't keep her all to yourself!" Doug said

Hanson shook his head, and focused on the paperwork in front of him.

"What if we all had a little dinner party? It is only fair that as your friends, we extend our hospitality!" Judy said, trying a different tactic.

Tom looked up and studied his three friends. They all looked so pathetic, and for the first time in his life, Tom took pity on them. "Fine…seven o'clock. Don't be late".

"Yes!!" Penhall cheered, jumping up and doing a victory dance.

With that, Tom grabbed his coat and hurried out the door, leaving his ecstatic co-workers behind.


	8. The Dinner Date

The smell of Tawney's wonderful cooking filled the air as Tom entered his apartment.

He was in no way looking forward to this little…dinner party, but Tom knew that if Tawney was going to be a part of his life, she would eventually have to meet his friends and co-workers.

Penhall was more or less a brother to him, so Tom knew that it was inevitable, he had just hoped the meeting would come at a more convenient time.

"Honey…I'm home!" Tom said, smiling at his own joke.

Tawney came bustling around the corner clad in a little polka dot sundress and a frilly white apron.

She saw Tom in the doorway and pounced on him, throwing her arms around his neck as he spun her around.

"You're home early!" She squealed, "So, how did it go with Fuller?"

"Fine…I finally read the article, which recounts every undercover name I've had in the past three years. There are some very confused kids out there right now. But yeah, it went fine."

"See I told you everything would work out!" Tawney said, grabbing Tom's hand and pulling him over to the couch.

"Fuller is doing his best. For now, we just need to stay out of the limelight for a while, okay?" Tom said pulling Tawney onto his lap.

"We will be more careful from now on." Tawney agreed.

"So, ah you know…that means no more rendezvous' in the park." Tom said nuzzling her neck.

"Oh, so we will have to find new spots for our meetings…" Tawney sighed.

Tom rolled over so that they were laying down, "How about right here?" Tom purred as he kissed her, all thoughts of the dinner party completely leaving his mind.

----------------------

"I'm so excited!" Judy said as she straightened her hair in front of Hanson's door, "I mean a real live movie star!"

"How do I look?" Ioki asked Doug, who was right next to Judy.

"You look terrible!" Dennis said coming up from behind the three.

"Dennis, what are you doing here?" Penhall spat. Very annoyed by his presence.

"Oh, you didn't think I would miss all the fun did you?" Dennis replied, giving Doug a triumphant smile.

Doug rolled his eyes. "Well, it's time!" Judy said looking at her watch. She smiled and knocked on the door.

--------------------------------------

"mmmmm, I love you" Tawney sighed as she snuggled against Tom's bare chest.

Tom smiled, and ran his fingers through her hair. "You too."

"Knock! Knock!"

"What was that?" Tawney said shooting her head toward the door. "Are you expecting someone?"

"Crap!" Tom screamed, suddenly remembering his plans. "Okay Tawney, run in the bedroom and get some clothes on. I apologize in advance for anything they say…I'll explain later." Tom said frantically ushering her toward the bedroom.

"What?" she asked, almost falling over as Tom pushed her along.

"Okay, my friends wanted to meet you…I forgot. I'm sorry." Tom said pulling on his jeans.

Tawney smiled and gave Hanson a quick kiss on the check before shutting herself into the bedroom.

Tom worried about the funniest things sometimes, but that was what Tawney loved most about him.

He didn't worry about clothes, or anything trivial like that. No, for Tom Hanson the biggest crisis he faced was his goofy friend Penhall and his odd antics.

Tom was down to earth, and that was very refreshing to Tawney.

"Anybody home?" Penhall asked stepping into the apartment, "smell's amazing!"

"Doug!" Hanson said, pulling his shirt over his head, "you can't just walk in here!"

"And my lucky streak continues…are you two ever _not_ going at it?" Booker said setting a casserole dish on the kitchen counter.

"What are you talking about?" Judy asked, setting her dish down as well.

"Every time I come here, I walk in on them…and judging by Tommy's state of undress, my streak has continued." Dennis said motioning to Hanson, and his ruffled state.

Ioki just chuckled at him, Judy blushed, Hanson looked furious, and Penhall looked extremely wounded.

"You let _that_ meet her," Doug said pointing at Booker, "and you didn't even tell me about it. I'm your best friend!"

"I didn't let him do anything! He just barged in!" Hanson defended.

"Hey, it's in the past. We have more important things to worry about…where is she!" Judy said, hardly able to contain her excitement.

Perfectly on cue, right at that moment, Tawney came bouncing into the living room.

"Hello everyone, I'm Tawney. Tommy has told me so much about all of you. I'm glad you could make it." She said smiling brightly, and extending her hand to all of the other officers.

All the officers stood with their mouths hanging open, with the exception of Booker, who walked over to Tawney and threw his arm around her.

"Oh don't worry guys. We're old friends." Booker said kissing her on the cheek.

"Alright break it up!" Tom said shoving Dennis away from his girlfriend.

"A little protective aren't we darling?" Tawney said playfully. "Well, let me just go check on dinner, please have a seat."

Tawney walked into the kitchen to check on her chicken, silently praying that she had enough for everyone.

"Ah…I ah corn…brought, Dorothy, sent." Penhall sputtered handing a pan to Tawney, "I mean Dorothy sent some corn".

-------------------

"Well, Tawney I have to say you are an amazing cook!" Harry complimented as he rolled himself out of his chair and over to the couch.

"And you probably thought actresses weren't good for anything…" Tawney quipped as she cleared the table.

"Here let me help you with that" Judy said, following her into the kitchen.

"So how did you and Tom meet, if you don't mind my asking" Judy began.

"It's kind of a long story, but basically we were in the same place at the same time. I just noticed him…that's all. He didn't even recognize me!" Tawney chuckled as she looked over the counter at her boyfriend.

"You two are really in love…aren't you?" Judy said watching Tawney's eyes light up as she watched Hanson.

"Yeah…we are" Tawney mused.

"What are you two doing?" Penhall yelled from the living room.

"We're coming" Judy shouted back.

"Hey guys…it's been real, but I'm gonna run on home…aka, upstairs" Booker said waving goodbye to all his friends.

Booker walked out the door, but ran back in as quickly as he had exited.

"What's wrong?" Tom asked.

"Whatever you do…don't go outside!"


	9. A close call

"Very funny Booker…what is there a big scary monster?" Judy laughed returning from the kitchen.

"As much as I wish I was joking, I am being dead serious." Denis replied, still quite frantic.

He crossed to the window that looked down over the street in front of the apartment building and pulled back the curtains. "See for yourself".

Tom crossed to the window and peered down. There, camped in front of HIS apartment building were more reporters than Tom had ever seen in his life.

Hell, there were more people gathered than Tom had ever seen in his life.

Tom could barely make out the street below. "Perfect" Tom yelled slamming the curtains back. "That's just great".

"Look, it will be fine, they'll go away." Tawney said crossing to Tom, who immediately turned his back to her.

"No they won't just go away. They will never go away. This is how life is going to be for as long as I'm with you. How can I be an undercover cop with my face, and bio plastered everywhere from here to China?" Tom refused to turn around and look at Tawney as he spoke.

"Maybe, this is just not going to work" Tom sighed.

Tears formed in Tawney's beautiful eyes as Tom spoke. She couldn't think of anything to say in response, she just stared at him.

"Hey now, lets not get carried away!" Penhall said putting his arm around Tawney's shoulder and looking at Tom, "Everyone is a little stressed it's…"

"…No Doug, it's not fine." Tom said crossing to the bedroom and slamming the door behind him.

Tawney fell into Doug's side, sobbing, "I don't get it, we've never even argued about anything before! Why is he being this way?"

"I'll go talk to him" Doug said, leading Tawney to the couch.

------------------------------------

"Get out Doug!" Tom yelled as Penhall meekly opened the bedroom door.

"What the hell are you doing?" Doug said sitting next to his best friend.

" I'm doing what needs to be done. Who am I kidding anyway, we don't belong together" Tom said, staring at the floor.

"You don't know that." Doug replied

" It's her or my job" Tom sighed.

"Correct me if I'm wrong Hanson, but haven't you been looking for a reason to leave?"

Tom didn't respond. Penhall had struck a nerve. "Tom, you can't run away from life. I have known that girl for two hours and I can already say that you two are perfect for each other. If that's not proof what is?" Doug said grabbing Hanson's shoulders and forcing him to look him in the eye.

"It's not that simple Doug." Tom responded, with much less conviction then he would have liked.

Penhall released Tom, "Nothing ever is with you. I have seen you throw away a ton of great relationships, an I am not going to let you do it again."

"Doug, I can't deal with all those people every day for the rest of my life. I like my privacy. It's the only thing I have left at the end of the day. Our job takes everything. I risk my life. I do things against my wishes…for what? It all means nothing." Tom ran his fingers through his hair, "the only part of my life that my job can't take away is my identity. "

"What are you talking about?" Penhall screamed.

"No matter what happens at work, with those kids, they will never know my real name. My privacy…that's mine." Tom shouted back.

"So imagine what that girl out there has gone through. You are the first person she has met that has given her the ability to have that privacy you hold so dear. You can't just take that away from her"

"This is not about her!" Tom yelled, pacing the room.

Penhall shook his head. He walked over to the bedroom door and left.

On his way out he whispered, "You don't deserve her," under his breath, but he doubted if Tom heard.

Oh, but Tom had heard. He was furious, but he heard.

----------------------------

"Well?" Judy stammered impatiently as Doug re-entered the living room.

Doug just shrugged. "I tried." he said flatly.

"Let me go…" Tawney said, wiping more tears from her eyes.

"Be my guest." Doug replied stepping away from the door.

Tawney entered very slowly, she was not quite sure what she was going to say, but she knew she had to try.

"Just leave." Tom said weakly, as he noticed her come in.

"Tom, look at me." She said, sitting next to him, and taking his hands in her own. She was surprised he hadn't pushed her away.

"I can't do this without you." She stated.

"Do what?" Tom laughed.

"Life." Tawney replied, "everything was fine the way it was, but now…I need you with me. I know this will be hard… but look… it will work out. Maybe, when you go undercover from now on, you will just have to be more disguised. That would be fun…right?" Tawney said, trying to make light of the situation.

Tom was not amused, "Tawney, this has nothing to do with my job. I just can't handle the exposure…I'm a private person."

"Our privacy won't go away. Sure they will try and take our picture, but that's as far as it goes. No one has to know about our lives" Tawney reassured.

"No…Tawney, I do love you, but I have to do what is right. Like Doug said, I don't deserve you."

Tawney was not sure what had come over her at that moment, but she hauled off and slapped him. "Oh no, you don't get to be all self- righteous. No one decides who deserves me, but me… and I choose you. So…there!" Tawney shouted.

Tom just stared blankly at her. His cheek stung and his head was throbbing.

This was the first time he had looked her in the eye since all of this had gone down. Much to his dismay at the moment, looking into her eyes made him weak.

All his resolve went away when he looked at them. He could refuse her nothing.

He had a history of taking love for granted. He was selfish, but her eyes made him want to change.

Her eyes, made him love her.

"Tawney…" he began, "I am sorry for overreacting. However, I am not making any promises. Let's let all of this cool down, and then see where we are at."

"That's not good enough Tom" Tawney replied, with a horrible icy tone.

Tom was not happy. He knew then that he couldn't lose her but, he didn't want to be the one to give in.

He had a choice…and in a history of but decisions…for once, he made the right one.

"Alright then, you win" Tom mumbled.

Tawney smiled, "what was that?" she said coyly.

"I said you win…I don't want to lose you. But, this," Tom said motioning toward the window, "has got to stop."

Tawney smiled again, and then kissed him on the cheek. She was glad he was willing to try, but she was still very mad at him, and she wasn't ready to forgive him just yet.

"Com on." She said grabbing his hand and pulling him into the living room.

Everyone cheered as they watched Tawney re-enter the room with Tom.

"Let's get out of here!" Tawney cheered.

Everyone looked hopeful for a moment, but quickly remembered their predicament. "Sound's great but, how?" Harry asked.

"Fuller!" Tawney said, "Get him to come clear this up!"

"That could work…why didn't we think of that?" Booker said grabbing a phone.

Within minutes, half the police force was on their way to clear the streets.

Once it looked relatively safe, Tom, Judy, Tawney, Doug, Dennis, and Harry, were all shoved into a police car and rushed from the scene, light bulbs flashing the whole time.

"Where to?" Judy asked, elbowing Dennis in an attempt to get more room.

"My mom's" Tom said, "that's secluded enough for now".

"Alright!" Penhall cheered.

Everyone rolled their eyes at Doug, except Tawney, who obviously didn't get the joke.

"What…Mrs. Hanson makes the best chocolate chip cookies ever1" Doug defended.

Tawney chuckled, and they were on their way.


	10. Mrs Hanson

Sorry about the super long break! I am going to try and finish this story soon! Thanks for the reviews!

Ch. 10 

**Mrs. Hanson-**

"Tawney! Tom! Oh Heavens…Doug!" Mrs. Hanson chimed as the car pulled into the driveway of her secluded home. "My this is a surprise…why you've brought the whole police station!"

Tom nodded to his mother while Tawney hugged her warmly. "Sorry about this, we kinda need a place to hide." Tom stated.

"Oh you know you are always welcome here. But, I'm going to have to make more cookies!" At that, Penhall cheered and they all made their way inside.

Tom wandered off alone while everyone made them-selves at home.

"I'll help you with the cookies Mrs. Hanson" Tawney said rushing after Tom's mother.

"Oh thank-you dear." She said.

Then, once they were alone, she rounded on Tawney. "So, what exactly is going on with my son?"

"Oh, we got in something of an argument today, but it's alright now". Tawney replied, not quite convinced herself.

"He's not out there with his friends. He seems pretty upset. What was it about?" She asked kindly.

"Some reporters found us today and surrounded the apartment. Add to that those pictures that were published already, and Tom snapped. He is worried about his job. I just don't know what to do." Tawney confessed.

Tom's mother patted Tawney on the shoulder, "Honey, he will come around. He's not used to so many people being interested in him, that's all. It will take some adjusting. But, he loves you. I have never seen him so happy with anyone in my life!"

Tawney smiled meekly and returned her focus to the cookies.

"Tawney, I'm just going to run upstairs and grab something, you think you can handle the kitchen?" Mrs. Hanson asked.

"Sure thing!" Tawney replied smiling.

Tom was upstairs in his father's study when his mom found him. He heard her enter, but he didn't acknowledge her.

"Tom, I try and stay out of your business, but you better go apologize to that girl pronto!"

Tom laughed lightly. "Heard what happened, did you?" He asked ssarcastically.

"Sit down son" his mother said, patting the spot next to her on the sofa. Tom obeyed, but continued staring at the floor.

"Mom, ever since dad died, I thought I had to be a cop…it's the only thing that made sense to me. Go figure, the one girl I actually fall for, would ruin my career.

I can just see it….I'm undercover and some kid goes, "you look like Tawney Kale's boyfriend, the cop!" and then bang…I'm dead before he even finishes the sentence."

"No one is saying you have to give up your job Tom, it's just going to be harder, but isn't that a sacrifice worth making?"

"She will be in danger mom. There are guys after my head, wait until they find out that I have a high profile girlfriend. It will never be safe for her to walk in public again!" Tom sighed and leaned back against the couch.

"It's not safe for her anyway. It is never safe to live in the public eye but, having a resourceful cop like you close to her can't hurt…can it?"

"I don't know anymore" Tom replied.

Mrs. Hanson looked into her son's eyes as she made her last plea, "Tom listen to me. Life is too short for this. You love her, then marry her and be happy. Take it from someone who knows. There are so many things I wish I had said to your father that I will never get the chance to now.

It was very hard, but I never regretted meeting him, and I never blamed his job. He died doing what he thought was right and he left me a wonderful son to care for. If I had spent half as much time as you do, worrying about things that were out of my control, you probably wouldn't have been born in the first place!" Mrs. Hanson yelled at her son.

Tom just nodded. "Now that we got that all squared away….I have something for you." Mrs. Hanson crossed to the desk and pulled out a small ring box and handed it to Tom.

"I was going to wait to give it to you, but now seems like the perfect moment." She said as she studied his face.

"Tanks Mom" Tom said smiling kindly. "I hope you are right about this. Don't get me wrong, she's the one….I just hope I don't cause her more trouble then I'm worth."

"Oh…you're worth it, trust me" she winked at him as she led him out of the study. Quite proud of herself for fixing everything.


End file.
